Love Contract
by Etude Doll
Summary: Pan, I have a business deal to offer you. Trunks rolled the words over in his mouth before he spoke them. Marry me.
1. Chapter 1

**Love Contract**

_Chapter 1. Our Scandal_

_If it kills me, I will reach super!_ Pan repeated those words over and over in her mind to remind herself that it would happen. She couldn't believe it when Trunks said all those insults to her. He had changed his attitude toward her so much in the past few years it was ridiculous. They stopped being friends 5 years ago and started insulting each other every chance they got. Pan didn't know how or when it started but all she could remember was that he taunted her of never being able to go super. What if she wasn't as strong as the others, they were half saiyan, she was only a quarter! They were now enemies and she preferred it this way. At least she had an excuse for hating him, when truthfully he made butterflies flutter around in her stomach everytime he glanced her way.

The air in the GT room was heavy with the stink of sweat and blood. Pan wiped the sweat from her brow, beads of sweat slid down her flushed skin. Clumps of matted hair, and the remains of her favorite outfit, all showed signs of her weariness. Panting, every breathe burning her lungs, her fists clenched, slowly and controlled. When she asked Vegeta to train her, or begged as he put it, he only agreed on one demand; he wouldn't show her any mercy. Her clothes were torn, shredded, nothing but scraps left and she could see at least a dozen open wounds. As he promised, he wasn't showing her any mercy. He didn't even break a sweat when they were training, unlike herself who had to keep pushing herself so she didn't faint.

Twice a week for four hours he would train her and after she would rush off to work. He just stood there glaring at her as if she was scum, the dirt from beneath his shoes, a weakling. His crossed arms, his calm stature, the permanent smirk on his face angered her to no end. He was laughing at her and wondering why she was even trying. She didn't have enough saiyan blood to go super, she should have been content with her current saiyan level. But Pan couldn't settle for her current saiyan level. She had to prove to a certain playboy that genes didn't halter one's ability to accomplish something.

Pan glanced at her watch and groaned in relief that today's lesson was almost over. _There's **that** meeting at ten... If I have to sit through another one of that spoiled brat's whine sessions I will literally gag._ At the moment they were trying to sign a contract with the company Hour Inc, the top metal production company in Asia. The only problem was that the president of the company passed away as they were halfway through with the legalities. In his will he left everything to his ignorant wife, who passed the responsibility of the company onto her further ignorant daughter. She was nothing more but a spoiled, rich girl but it was an important matter. They needed to convince her to sign the contract but she was being difficult. Everyone in Capsule Corp knew that Trunks could charm her to sign, except the jerk was surprisingly doing nothing. So Pan was doing her best to gather data to convince her to sign. _Only 4 more years to go._

Pan had been forced to become Mr. Briefs' personal secretary. Bulma coaxed her when no one in their right mind would apply for the job. After about a dozen secretaries had quit, rumors spread that Trunks Briefs was a charming demon. He seduced his secretaries, broke their hearts, then the heart-broken women all quit. Lucky for Capsule Corp that Pan didn't have a choice. The last company she had worked for had been shut down due to a debt they forgot to pay ten years ago. It was a stable and enjoyable job but she had been laid off with a small pension pack. In that same week Trunks' latest secretary quit and Bulma became desperate for a replacement who couldn't be seduced by her son.

Bulma told her that it would only be a temporary job and that she would find a replacement in that same month. Unfortunately for Pan, she had signed the new contract that stated she would work for 5 years without quitting. The only way she would be excused of the contract and allowed freedom would be if she became pregnant (she was single), physical impairment (she liked that everything worked), or she was deemed mentally ill (an asylum didn't sound appealing to her). At the end of the month Bulma apologized and stated that since she was so good at the job why not continue... One word answer: Trunks.

During her reminiscing, she didn't notice Vegeta appear behind her and before she could think he had her sprawled on the cold floor of the GT room, her lower back feeling as if it was on fire. _Oh, this has to always happen, ow._ She painfully pushed herself up in a sitting position and held her aching head in both hands. The world was slowly spinning and she saw three Vegeta's, which was more than she ever wanted to see. Without even a warning he had caused her to find herself in Bulma's expertise care again, actually only the third time today, she could still feel the dull ache of her left shoulder that had popped out of it's socket earlier that morning. Luckily for her she had just enough saiyan blood in her to heal quickly. But after she injured herself, Vegeta would yell at her to get up and she would walk over to the medical room. Each step seeming more painful than the last.

"The brat asked for it," Vegeta spitted out. Furious that he was getting punished again for her recklessness. Honestly he was quite fond of the spawn of Kakarott, but he would never admit it. "She asked for training, I was giving her training," he added.

"She asked for training, not for medical attention!" Bulma yelled at Vegeta, she couldn't believe he didn't see the condition Pan was in. There were no huge, ugly scars but Pan was running out of bruised areas that clothing would cover. Though she knew that Vegeta was holding back, even this little amount of training had taken it's toll on the determined quarter saiyan. She was thinner, she seemed to always get colds, and Bulma wondered if Pan was eating properly with her new schedule as Trunks' personal secretary. Covering her bruises and cuts, fixing broken bones, and putting things back to where they belonged became a regular part of her schedule twice a week. Bulma was afraid the young girl would dangerously harm herself with all this training, and yet her stubborn saiyan prince couldn't see it.

"I'm fine Bulma, really. I'm sort of getting used to seeing three of everything in the morning," Pan joked. _Ow! After I go super I will strangle Trunks so bad my fingers will leave a permanent imprint._

Bulma tightened the roll of bandage she was using to wrap around Pan's ribs, to stop the cut from bleeding, and to tell the young girl that it was inappropriate to talk about her health so lightly. Pan winced and tried to smile when her mind was yelling in pain; she knew she deserved that.

"Well, if this continues, I won't try and stop Gohan from killing Vegeta," Bulma laughed at her own joke, remembering how opposed Gohan was when he found out that Pan was training with Vegeta. But even without his approval Pan still continued coming two times a week. She knew that it had caused a rift in their relationship as father and daughter, but it wasn't her business to try to solve. Even though she itched to solve it.

"Panny, if you die, little Buna won't have a Saiyan godmother to love anymore," Bra teased, holding up her 5 year old daughter. She was lazily standing in the doorway, probably watching the whole time. Bra and Goten had gotten married and had little Buna exactly nine months later. It had caused plenty of rumors to spread since they both were very obviously reluctant to marry on their wedding day. But nine months later, there wasn't a couple more in love than Bra and Goten. Out of nowhere, Bra and Goten made Pan and Trunks the god-parents of their first child. Luckily Buna had another pair of god-parents including Marron and Uub, just in case Pan and Trunks really did kill each other one day. Marron and Uub had married seven years ago and now they were the ideal couple with two adorable twin boys.

Pan sometimes wished they were all single again and out having a good time. Not that she didn't love her godkids, she just felt that everyone had accomplished what they wanted to do with their lives and she had been left out. Bra had gotten herself into the radio business and Marron had entered the writing world. They were successful, in both their personal and public lives. How in the world did they get to become friends was beyond Pan. It might have had to do with a certain party night and a hang-over, but none of the girls could exactly remember what had happened that night.

"Bra, if Goten finds you walking around holding Buna, he's going to beat up all of us for allowing you to," Pan teased back, ignoring her previous statement. She didn't want to remember the other way she was tied to Trunks. Trunks was still bouncing around dating as many women as he pleased and Pan found more joy in training than a steady relationship. Everyone was hoping for them to get together and marry but from the looks of it now, that was going to take a miracle.

"Goten's tense about me doing anything but sitting and sleeping," Bra defended herself about being five months pregnant and walking around carrying Buna. She let go of Buna and crossed her arms over her ample chest. The toddler bounced over to ask to be held by her favorite "Grandpa Veggie."

Everyone sighed, Goten was overprotective of her and everyone knew it, except Goten himself. Bra had a difficult pregnancy with Buna and had to have a c-section at the last minute. The baby's ki was weak and it had heart problems from the moment of birth. She was in labor for only a short period of time, but she stayed afterward in the hospital for months with little Buna. They worried about how the doctors would react to an infant having a monkey tail, but somehow Buna had no tail. They only found out later that she was almost completely human. Since both Goten and Bra were half-Saiyan and half-human, Buna somehow got mostly their human genes and came out with no tail. With a bubbly and cheerful personality her parents still loved her dearly no matter what.

"Pan, you should be off to work," Bulma said after finishing off the last bandaged area. For a woman in her twenties Pan didn't feel like one with all the scrapes and cuts she had. She didn't care for her looks which gave all the more reason for Trunks to tease her. But then she would ask about his last date and he would turn solemn and walk off. He was so secretive about his personal life with her. Most of the time it was plastered around newspapers and magazines everywhere and she knew that he talked freely of it with his friends. But with her it was a forbidden topic. Being his personal secretary she knew who he was dating and how many gifts she would have to buy for the girl. Over time she simply accepted the fact that since they were enemies, love lives were not really an acceptable topic for conversation. Trunks was predictable enough though, he went through girls such as one would go through tissues, quick picks and instant replacements.

Everyone except Pan went to sit at the table for breakfast. After a few moments Trunks stumbled into the dining room. He was irritated and cranky. He seemed to blink at the lights in the dining room and his face held an expression of pain when Buna yelled. He was having a hang-over from hell. The fact that his tie was unwilling to knot right only seemed to aggravate him more.

"Bra, where's Pan?" he asked tugging on his tie to somehow get it right. He swore he would never get to like the feeling of wearing a suit and a tie. He much preferred his casual clothes and training outfits. Sure he was busy but he still sparred a few times a week with Goten. Bra and Pan were best friends and they knew everything about each other. If Bra didn't know where Pan was, then even Pan wouldn't know herself.

"She's in the shower," Bra answered with a smirk. She hoped he got the hint that Pan didn't want to see him this morning.

"I need to tell her that she is going to have to stay late today, since Hour just added another paragraph to the contract," Trunks said with irritation in his voice as he sat down to eat.

"Well, tell her when you see her at work," Bra said matter-of-factly. They worked together and if it was work it should stay at work. Pan and Trunks equally avoided each other's company unless it was for work. She was amazed at her brother's stupidity. It took only a few minutes of verbal fighting for it to cause a rift between them. He just had to say that she could never turn super, and of course to match his hurtful comment Pan told him that no woman would ever love a pig-headed jerk such as him. Bra was sad to see what it had done to both of them. Pan's goal to reach super no matter the risk and Trunks goal to date every available woman in Japan to find love. He never seemed quite as happy as he used to be, no twinkle or shine to his eyes, and every smile seemed forced and false. Maybe he wasn't as content with his current relationship with Pan as he acted to be.

Trunks only shrugged and sat down to eat. Goten and Trunks discussed some sports related topic, Bra talked with Buna asking what she was going to do at school that day, and Bulma and Vegeta argued as usual since Vegeta complained about the food again.

* * *

Pan stepped out of the Briefs' home and took in a deep breathe. Morning was her favorite time, everything was bright and new again. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she something flash? _Hmm, maybe because of the lack of sleep I'm seeing things._ She took her car key out of her purse and opened her car door. Just as she stepped one foot in her car Trunks strolled out the front door and winced at the brightness.

"Morning," he said with a forced grin.

"Good morning to you too," Pan said with a fake smile of her own. To anyone else this would seem a perfectly normal, friendly greeting. But the true underlying words were:

_"Training to reach super again, Panny?" Trunks mocked._

_"Late night yesterday, Boxerboy?" Pan would innocently say._

A few minutes passed by and Pan was sure she saw something flash out of the corner of her eye. She scanned the area and saw nothing. _Tonight I am going to sleep a full night of sleep. I have to lay off the caffeine._ Pan slid into her car, buckled up, and started the engine. _Another miserable day with Trunks._

* * *

Just as she thought, it was another horrible day at Capsule Corp. They had the meeting with the company Hour and Miss Airhead put in another useless paragraph into the contract that would actually hinder their progress. So they spent 3 hours convincing her that it was unneeded. By the end of the 3 hours she still refused to sign the contract and told them that she needed another 2 weeks or so. Frustrated and weary, they agreed and set another meeting near the end of the month. Trunks returned to his office and Pan returned to her desk.

Around 4:00 pm her muscles were getting stiff and she really needed a cup of coffee if she wasn't planning on napping. She was not used to so much desk work, her mind and body wanted action and adventure. She became restless with nothing to do except typing, sorting, and answering messages for a guy she despised. With a heavy sigh and a wide yawn, Pan rose from her desk and decided to walk into Trunk's office to ask for a break.

"I'm amazed that Bra had this job for 2 years before she met Goten," Pan managed to muffle out in the middle of another yawn.

"Ah Miss Son, could you please take these documents to Mr. Briefs in his office since it appears you are on your way over there," said a young man before he dashed off without even a thank you. The documents were heavy, they stacked over the height of her head, and it was a hassle to walk peeking around one corner of the papers. Somehow by luck she was able to get to the door, kick it open and step inside.

"Pan, what was that for!" Trunks yelled rising from his chair. His mind was cloudy from the four dozen bottles of expensive brandy he just drank but he had a good hold on his senses... Well some of them. The only two people working at Capsule Corp capable of slamming open a locked door were his mother and Pan. He knew that it was Pan though from her ki.

"Boxerboy, help me!" Pan shrieked before she tripped on the corner of the coffee table and fell over. Trunks stumbled around his desk and tried to help her but in his drunken state he tripped on a chair and fell over too. The papers flew into the air and scattered everywhere, even on top of the couple laying on the floor. As Trunks was falling he somehow grabbed Pan's arms and she landed on top of him. It was quite a suggestive position. Trunks thought he saw a flash in the corner of his eye but all that was going through his mind was Pan.

Pan couldn't breath. A thousand thoughts were going through her mind but the ones that stuck were why was her breathing so labored, why was her heartbeat racing, why did she want to cuddle against a man who insulted and hurt her beyond words? _His heartbeat is racing too, I can feel it._

"Trunks..." she whispered, the tone unconsciously hushed and seductive.

Pan slowly pushed on her hands and rose into a sitting position. Now she was sitting with her legs over Trunk's side and her body on his abs. Before she could think of what to do next Trunks grabbed her face in his hands and pulled her down to kiss her. The bitter taste of brandy flooded her mouth before all her senses melted. His kiss intensified, rougher, hungrier. He pulled back for a moment and suckled on her bottom lip before he slightly nipped down to her collarbone. A shiver went through Pan.

She slowly tasted the brandy left on her tongue and realized what was wrong with him. He was drunk! Pain shot through her heart at the fact that the only way he would kiss her was if he was drunk. She laughed a little at the irony. She remembered all the times she had wanted him to kiss her and when he finally did he was drunk.

A breeze sailed in from an open window, further scattering the papers around them, and snapping her back to reality. She warily stood up, pulled her twisted skirt down, and with legs wobbling like rubber she calmly headed toward the door.

Before she got even halfway she felt a strong hand grab her forearm with a vise-like grip. Ruthlessly, he spun her around and crushed her against a bookcase. The impact would have broken every bone in a normal woman's body but Pan only felt a sharp pain along her back. She looked into his dangerous eyes, how unfocused they were, how miserable they looked? She thought she saw another flash in the corner of her eye but the thought quickly disappeared as he pinned her against the bookcase by placing his leg between her legs. She felt flushed and uncomfortable.

His lips captured hers in a hungry kiss as he raised his hand, that was still grabbing her wrist, over her head. She heard a popping sound in her daze and realized that he was using his other hand to open her blouse by ripping off the buttons. The shock quickly faded when his lips grazed down her exposed neck as he nipped at the tender flesh. She gasped when his hand ripped the opening of her lacy bra and he licked, nipped, and kissed her sensitive flesh. Pan felt her body shudder as a soft moan escaped her lips. _Who was that- I'm moaning! I'm responding to his- Mmm, he has such nice lips..._

Pan abruptly shoved him away as she heard a familiar voice coming toward the office. She stared at his face and realized just what he was doing to her. She fixed her torn blouse the best she could to cover herself then fled his office. Her entire body filled with horror when she felt someone grab her arm. She swung around and faced her best friend's concerned face. Pan numbly tugged her hand free before running out again, but this time at saiyan speed.

Bra stormed into Trunks' office ready to beat the crap out of him. He must have done something wrong to upset Pan so much and she was going to beat it out of him if he didn't tell her. She found him collapsed on the leather couch with an arm over his eyes.

"Sleeping on the job, Trunks?" Bra asked sarcastically, a definite smirk following the statement. He slid his arm down and looked at his sister. Her body language told him she was upset by her crossed arms and trademark Vegeta smirk. Trunks sighed and prepared himself to verbally battle with his sister.

"What do you want Bra?" Trunks forced out, his head still confused over what had happened. He almost seduced Pan. His mind was fogged up but his brain wasn't dead. How could he do that? He groaned at how bad he had messed up.

"I just want to know what the hell you did to hurt my best friend's feelings, again!" she yelled out. Bra didn't have the heart to see her friend spill tears again over her jerk brother. She felt disgusted at how he treated women. Jumping from one relationship to another, not even caring about the other's feelings. To her, his heart seemed as loving as a lump of coal, maybe even less if possible.

"She hates me, what else is new," Trunks mumbled. His tone bored and emotionless.

"She wouldn't hate you if you didn't give her a reason to!" Bra defended her best friend.

Trunks winced at Bra's statement, his mind agreeing but his body refusing to agree. He hated being wrong. He blamed his father for the stupid amount of saiyan pride he inherited. Trunks decided to take the coward's way out and pretend he didn't hear anything. He purposely ignored his sister's comment. Instead he sat up, grabbed the newly open bottle of brandy on the coffee table before him, and took a long drink. He was already drunk, he might as well get drunk enough to black out. He wanted to test a saiyan's tolerance for alcohol.

Bra swiftly walked over, slapped the invitations onto the party on the coffee table, and strode out. After Trunks finished the bottle (sadly still conscious), he glanced at the brightly decorated envelope. Inside it had an invitation to Bulma's autumn party, another occasion for his mother to throw a party. It was tomorrow night and he had to bring a date.

He didn't care if it was an autumn, winter, spring, or summer party. It made no difference to him. He went to get another bottle of brandy from the secret safe behind one of the bookcases. He didn't give a damn about the world at the moment.

* * *

Pan ran out Trunks' office, down all 40 plus flights of stairs, through the main office, and into the middle of the parking lot. She hadn't ran hard but her heart was thundering in her chest. She knew it wasn't from the running; it was from Trunks' kiss. She was in such shock that her mind had gone numb. She didn't know how to react. Trunks Briefs the number 1. bachelor in Japan had kissed **her**! It was her first kiss!

_I'm pathetic! For that to be my first kiss..._ She groaned at how horrible it sounded. She had gone on dates, sure, she could count the amount on one hand. She was too busy in high school, college, and business school. She didn't have time for dates, love, and all those emotions. She barely had time to eat and sleep, as if dating entered her mind at that time. Her goal was to own her own business but that went down the toilet after she finished business school and had loan debts up to her eyeballs. She was still paying a few of the loans back even now.

She stumbled toward her car and realized that her keys were in her purse which was on her desk. _Stupid idiot!_ She leaned on the hood of her car and brainstormed what to do. After a few minutes and a few more obscenities from the timid Pan she realized that she had two options. She could a) wait outside until Trunks went home or b) go back inside to get her keys and possibly see Trunks. Pan leaned against her car to think about what she could do. Suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder from behind. Pan spun around to face her best friend.

"Pan, you surprised me!" Bra shrieked placing a hand on her speeding heart. Pan smiled, relieved that it wasn't Trunks.

"Well, you are the one that sneaked up on me," Pan replied grinning.

"Hmm, so _what_ did you and my brother do?" Bra asked with a hint of amusement. She stared down at Pan's blouse that was missing buttons and laughed as her friend blushed as red as a cherry.

"Bra! Let's go shopping!" Pan yelled out suddenly trying to avoid her question. She saw Bra's eyes brighten like a child's at the mention of shopping. She nodded, hooked her arm around Pan's, and almost dragged Pan toward her car.

* * *

Bra dropped Pan off at her house after their shopping trip. On reflex her hand went to her side to dig out her keys from her purse then she realized that her purse was still on her desk in her office. Pan took a moment to think and tried the doorbell. Pan steadied herself for balance with her two dozen or so shopping bags as her mother opened the door out of nowhere. Pan tossed the shopping bags at Videl and stomped up the stairs. Her legs were screaming with pain at the soreness and all she wanted at the moment was sleep and more sleep. As soon as her head hit the pillow she fell instantly asleep.

Pan woke up to find out that she had dozed off and that it was past dinner. Trunks would still be at the office, probably waiting for her to come back and finish up the work she had left behind. Pan yawned and stretched like a cat, wishing that it was all a bad dream and that she had accidentally slept through the whole day. The soft knocking on her door broke her from her thoughts.

"Who is it?" Pan mumbled into her pillow, hoping that whoever answered would just let her get back to sleeping.

"Pan honey, It's Trunks, he said it's urgent," Videl replied as she stepped inside Pan's room holding a phone in one hand. She was glad to see that her daughter was finally up. When she tried to wake her up earlier Pan barked words at her in English that Videl couldn't understand. When she brought Gohan up to translate he turned a deep shade of red and said that it was better not to know what she was saying.

Pan burrowed herself into her covers. Her first thought was, _Screw him!_ then followed, _Oh wait, I almost did._ She laid there until her mother stomped over and ripped the covers off her body taking her with them. In a split second Pan found herself staring at her bedroom floor. She sat up and looked up. Trunks never called unless it was a life or death emergency and even then he sometimes forgot she worked for him.

Pan waved her hands in the air signaling no, and she mouthed the words, "Tell him I'm not here." She froze when her father yelled up the stairs to ask her if she was awake yet. Pan slammed the palm of her hand against her forehead at his timing. She didn't want to talk to him about work just yet, maybe tomorrow. Videl gave her a death glare though, placing her hand over the receiver, mouthing that he had called twenty-six times already. Pan pondered for a moment then decided he couldn't do anything else worse than what he tried earlier that day. She snatched the phone from her mother, stuck out her tongue, and scowled in response to her mother's cheerful wave good bye as Videl bounced out the door. She wasn't ready for this, or even in the mood, but took a deep breath and answered.

"Hello?" Pan said acting as cheerfully as possible and as if nothing had happened between them that afternoon.

"Pan, come over to the office immediately!" he growled, not even asking, but demanding it.

He was angry and she could almost feel the heat of his rage from the phone. She didn't like the tone of his voice or the way he said the words. Her mind raced to why she even put up with Trunks Briefs. Her hands nervously twitching she lowered the phone to her side. Then Pan did something she never thought she would do and hung up on Trunks Brief, her boss, her ex-friend, and her first love.

* * *

Pan waited until it was beyond midnight then slowly crept out of her house. She flied to work to gather some files and documents she needed to finish for tomorrow's meetings and most importantly her purse. Pan didn't want anyone catching her in her pajamas so she quickly sneaked down to the laundry room and put on her work clothes from earlier that day with an added sweater for warmth. Her mind still numb from the events earlier that day didn't help her fly. _He looked at me in that way as he... I shouldn't be thinking like this. If I keep on holding onto the daydream that one day he'll love me, I'll end up as just another one of his casual flings. Who knows how many he has. Does that guy even have a conscience like the rest of us?_

As she asked that question to herself images swarmed into her mind of when he played with Buna, how tender and gentle he held her, almost as if she was made of glass. How his deep masculine voice talked to her, called her cute nicknames, and answered all her childish questions. A small smile found her lips as she realized that he did have a heart that could give love, but she wondered where his heart was when he was with her.

Capsule Corps was silent at night except for a few people working overtime and the security guards. With a heavy sigh and a heavy heart Pan landed in the parking lot and walked to the entrance of Capsule Corps. The buttons beeped when she entered her password and the doors slid open. She could feel the ice cold floor even through her slippers and decided to jog up to her office. _Why I even try to please him is beyond me._ But in the back of her mind she knew the answer. She felt something for him even after all these years. Even though she tried her best to forget him by going to study in the states. She lived there for a while to learn English, but mostly to kill the feeling of love she had for him. She knew it was a one sided love, an unrequited love, a hopeless love. Yet time couldn't do much except make the burning love she held fade into a dull ache.

The elevator was long and tiresome, Pan tried to take her mind off what was about to happen and counted the number of floors up, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9... By the time she arrived on the floor to her office, Pan was shaking with fear. She stepped out of the elevator and walked the short distance to her desk. She heard nothing and breathed a sigh of relief. Trunks usually stayed late at night working and if she came back to gather more files she needed, she would always find him asleep on his leather couch. Pan would only place a blanket on him before going home. But today he was either fast asleep or he had gone home. She hoped it was the lather.

Pan went around her marble counter and turned on her computer to look for the files then print them out to take home to read. She digged through her drawers, found the file she was working on for the meeting the next day, grabbed the printed documents, and was about to head toward the elevator when she was flashed with a flashlight. She closed her eyes on reflex from the brightness and only thought of it as a security guard who had mistaken her for an intruder. When she opened her eyes she received a death glare from the most sensual eyes she had ever met. _Run!_ Ignoring her mind's warning her body took a step forward. _Idiot..._ She agreed.

"Panny, you hung up on me," Trunks said disappointedly, an evident smirk on his face even in the dark. He was sitting on the couch right across from her desk. His body leaned back, his feet propped up on coffe table, one hand behind his head while the other held the flashlight.

Trunks had laid on his couch for a good portion of the day, still as a corpse, depleting his storage of alcohol yet never blacking out. He had stopped drinking a while ago so he could be more or less sober to meet up with Pan. He could only remember bits and fragments of the day though, such as his mother coming into his office to scold him, yelling orders at people to leave him alone, and blocking out everyone from the floor of his office for a while so he could drink until the alcohol ate through his stomach lining.

He was feeling like hell since last night when he saw _her_ again at his favorite restaurant. He was feeling angry, frustrated, and just didn't feel like giving a damn about anything. After all that alcohol unfortunately he was still alive with only a throbbing headache. When one of his good friends who worked in the news department sent him a rather interesting bit of information he made a few phone calls waiting for Pan to arrive.

She looked so beautiful to him. Her big doe-like eyes with their sooty, black lashes and her pouty, lush lips. Her body was just as desirable as her face, soft porcelain skin over the perfect curves. He wanted to lick, kiss, and nip every inch of her body in bed. But he pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he returned to the business they had to deal with at the time. His calm face switched over into a scowl, terrifying enough to compete against Vegeta.

"Do you know why it was urgent you came over immediately?" he asked her, his voice flat and full of anger.

Pan slowly shook her head and ducked when he threw a newspaper at her. The newspaper hit the floor a few inches away from her feet. It was today's newspaper. It had a rather interesting picture of herself being devoured by Trunks against the bookcase. The angle that the picture was taken showed Trunks back and she could see her face, legs, and arms. It was obvious what they were going to do. Above the picture it had big, bold letters saying "Young President of Capsule Corps' Steamy Love Interest." All the color drained from Pan's face. _How did this happen?_

"Trunks, what are we going to do about this?!" Pan burst out at him, worry etched all over her pretty face. Trunks smirked with amusement. Pan played over the reasons and how anyone could have gotten a picture of this afternoon... _The windows and the flash I saw, when Trunks and I were about to... Cameras!_

"It'll be hard to deny it with that picture," he joked. Inside he was just as frustrated as Pan but he had an idea that came to mind. It was impulsive but it would help. Some... Maybe...

"Trunks, we have to either deny this at a press conference or... do something!" Pan panicked, all reasonable actions left her mind and only left the intense urge to wring either the photographer or Trunks' neck. Trunks' was closer, and he would live afterwards, if he was lucky. _Why? Why? Why? I guess it's true when they say nothing good can come out of getting into a personal relationship with your boss. Okay, breathe. Getting hysterical right now will do no one any good._ Pan slowly breathed in through the nose and out through the mouth, fearing that if she didn't calm down one of them wouldn't see tomorrow alive.

Trunks looked at Pan all worked up. She was standing in the middle of the office huffing and puffing. She looked so adorable to him like that. He wondered why he felt this way toward Pan all of a sudden even though he had known her all his life. Then realization dawned on him. He was a single man and she was a single woman, he was just attracted to her. That was all. But something inside his head nagged him; that wasn't the reason.

"Pan, I have a business deal to offer you," Trunks rolled the words over in his mouth before he spoke them, "Let's get married."

All color and life drained from poor Pan's face. She just stared at him in complete and utter silence.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Author's Notes: Ver. 3 with a name change. Also edited out a few unnecessary scenes and cleaned it up a bit. It's still not an amazing story by any standards but I hope that people will at least fall in love with the characters.

Oh, and if the steamy scene made anyone uncomfortable, I'm sorry! I was just excersizing the M rating on this story. That was the first time I wrote anything like that so it was also rather nerve-wrecking for me on how I could write it tastefully. No more in the near future!

All comments and critiques are welcomed. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Love Contract**

_Chapter 2. I Accept_

"Marriage!" Pan shrieked out at him. She couldn't believe her mind or rather his mind. Trunks was the most reasonable person she knew (in business) and this didn't make any sense.

Trunks cringed at her outburst then noticed the shock on her face and her gaping mouth; he chuckled to himself. He was going to have fun with his little Panny. She stared at him in shock and anger. Her reasons were simple a) they hated each other and b) she didn't know whether he was joking or being serious.

This was not the way she planned her dream proposal. Wasn't Trunks Brief supposed to be the number one romantic bachelor in Japan? How could he say those words so casually. Marriage was not a subject to be joked about and yet Trunks was laughing his head off at this point. Pan took a deep breath to clear her head so she wouldn't murder her boss, or pound his head to oblivion.

"Trunks, why would I even consider marrying you?" she replied, avoiding the question. Her tone was cold and flat, perfect to fool him of the thousands of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Her palms were slippery with sweat and she wiped them off the hem of her shirt. Her knees started to quiver from the chill and nervousness of her entire body. She bit her bottom lip from bursting into tears right at that precious moment.

"'Miss Pan Son, a new secretary of the infamous playboy, Trunks Brief, were seen in the most outrageous position yesterday. From the picture we can hardly doubt she is his lover, perhaps more? From research shows that these two are childhood friends and that their families are quite close friends. How deep is this relationship? Could it be another fling or is this something more? Miss Son was also seen stepping out of the Briefs' household in the morning. They arrived at Capsule Corp in separate cars. We suspect they are trying to keep their relationship a secret. From another source says that they have been spending a lot of time together late at night, we wonder why?'" Trunks finished off a quote from the newspaper article. His smirk widened until she was sure if it got any wider, his smirk would touch his earlobes. She had the urge to slap that smirk clear off his face.

Pan simply glared at him and thought back to all those days she had sparred with Trunks and why she hadn't blast him off into space when she had a chance. Pan's mind continued to scream off threats to the lavendar haired man in front of her and didn't notice he had gotten up. In a single moment he had moved from sitting on the couch to standing behind her. She felt his breathe on her bare neck; she shuddered at the warmth. She felt hot as if she was in a steam room instead of inside an air conditioned office. His neck craned down and licked the side of her neck before he slightly nipped at the tender flesh.

Pan opened her eyes and noticed a pretty vase with cherry blossoms on the front. She realized what he was trying to do again and snapped out of her fog of passion. Pan slipped from his embrace, ran toward the vase, picked it up, then threw it at Trunks. He barely missed it colliding with his forehead. Pan started swearing and shouting threats to him to go kill himself, get his remains run over by a tractor, and sizzle in hell like an omelot. Then she ran over to his coffee table and threw the stapler, flower pot, and stacks of books toward him. He dodged every single one with ease, he was easily twice her speed. She ran over to his desk and started flinging everything she could get her hands on, the notebooks, his mug, the pens and pencils, and even the stack of papers that were from the day's previous event.

Trunks saw Pan slip away as soon as she threw the stack of papers and ignoring the white cloud, he ran toward her. He snatched her wrist in time as she was running toward the elevator in front of her desk. She struggled free but Trunks being one step ahead of her grabbed her small frame and embraced her from behind preventing her from escaping. She twisted at first trying to free herself but after several failed attempts she heaved a sigh of defeat. He couldn't see her expression but from how stiff she was he could guess that she wasn't too happy being embraced by him. He slowly spun her around to see her face. Her lips pressed tight, her hands balled into tight fists, and how her gaze was fixed down told him how she was feeling. She wouldn't meet his eyes and that somehow frustrated him beyond words. He let go of her and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He raked his fingers through his hair, while trying to calm himself by deep steady breaths.

"It'll save your reputation Pan from being plastered as my lover. It will also prevent rumors and scandals from tainting the company's reputation any further because of me. And also keep Gohan from tearing me apart with his bare hands when everyone reads the morning newspaper today," he said with a note of humor in his voice for that last bit about Gohan. He hoped it would lighten the mood enough for her to look at him with one of her million watt smiles. After several long seconds ticked by he knew he failed.

Pan at first couldn't face him, too shocked at how he had tried to persuade her to agree with him. It felt as if he was insulting her intelligence by using the same tactics he used with other women on her. Did he think she was stupid? And the worst part of it all was that she had almost fallen for his charms. But the tone he used to explain was so honest and sincere... _Why can't he see what is wrong with this plan?_

Taking a deep breath she looked into his stormy eyes. "No, I'm sorry Trunks. I just can't," Pan said turning her body away from his intense gaze.

"Fine then, I'll just have to charge you with attempted sexual assault," he said smugly. She turned toward him. She wanted to throttle him when what he said sinked in.

"You can't do that. It should be the other way around!" Pan defended herself. Her nails bit into her flesh as her fists tightened.

"But I was defenseless in my drunken state earlier today. Ask anyone who looked in on me," he said with a devilish look in his eyes.

"You can't," Pan weakly repeated, knowing she was losing the argument. She felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach. If he decided to press charges, she would never win.

"But I can," he said with an slight smirk, his clear eyes looking straight into hers. _Evil jerk._

Pan felt tears well up into her eyes. She knew she couldn't cry in front of him but her body never did obey her. She bit her bottom lip as a single teardrop fell down her cheek.

Trunks reached out a tentative hand to stroke her cheek but she flinched away from his touch. Her rejection felt worse than if she had stabbed him. Trunks paused for a moment, thinking of what to do. He had to convince her somehow, someway. With a heavy sigh he walked away from her. He walked over to the large floor to ceiling windows, staring solemnly at the peaceful night sky. His mind churned, he needed something else to force her to marry him. He couldn't use force such as threatening to press charges. _What can I use to tempt her?_ The thought struck him like a bolt of lightening.

"Pan, agree to this and I'll let you off on your contract to Capsule Corp," Trunks stated. He knew the one thing that she hated beyond anything, working for him. He hoped it would be enough.

"What's the catch?" Pan asked perking up at the offer but suspicious. She was the only willing person to work as his personal secretary. Well, willingly would be too nice a word. But still...

"If you demand a divorce before the six months is over then you simply continue to work for me. No catch. A winning situation for the both of us," Trunks said as the thoughts suddenly entered his mind.

"What six months? Pan asked.

"The six months of our marriage of course. What? You want to stay married to me?" Trunks said with a handsome grin.

"Of course not!" Pan replied.

Pan thought it over for a moment. Was she willing to risk it? Marry Trunks and be free of him in 6 months or continue the living hell of being his personal secretary for another 4 years? It sounded so simple yet she couldn't fall back in love with Trunks. She just couldn't. It was unbearable enough at the moment seeing him everyday, flirting warmly with other women and giving her the cold treatment. _I don't want to fall in love with him again..._ Pan let out a hollow laugh to prevent herself from crying. It sounded fake even to her own ears.

"It's funny because I never intended to get married," Pan joked. It was true though, her love life was non-existent at that point so she had simply given up on the thought of marriage in her future..

"Never? Why?" Trunks asked perplexed. Pan was a beauty, not the fake beauties who smeared themselves with makeup and enhanced themselves until they were fifty percent silicone. She was a natural beauty, she had charismatic personality, and a tenderly kind heart. She was equally beautiful on the inside and out.

"I'm not the housewife type," Pan easily lied shrugging. She could never tell him the truth. _I'm still trying to recover from a heartbreak 5 years ago._

He was silent for a moment. Pan never considered herself the marriage type, certainly not the type to marry someone like him. He erased the doubts filling his mind and ventured on.

"So it's a no?" he asked glancing over his shoulder to see her. She was sitting on the couch, her legs crossed, leaning forward so her chin could rest on her up-turned palm. She was biting her lower lip, clearly a habit when she was overly emotional. She was adorable in his eyes.

"Okay," she whispered. Her thoughts were as organized and steady as a train crash. She went on her gut instinct that told her, what the hell do it. If she didn't like it he told her that divorce was an option they could take. What she didn't see was the wicked gleam that shone in Trunks eyes at her acceptance.

"The wedding will take place in 2 days. We have a press conference today. You have a gown, flower, and cake appointment today. Catch!" he said as he threw something toward her.

The small, square, velvet jewelery case dropped into the palm of her hand. She stared at it for a moment uncertain what to do. She opened it to reveal a ring. It was simple yet elegantly styled; a thin gold band and a delicate pink diamond crested in the center. She felt overwhelmed with emotions.

"If you don't like it I can get you another one," he said nervously as he pushed a hand through his hair.

Pan slowly shook her head. It was so kind that he would care what she thought when this was only a temporary marriage. She was touched, until the shock wore off of receiving a beautiful ring. He knew her answer all along, that arrogant jerk had planned everything already just assuming she would agree! Before she could lash out at him he placed two sheets of paper in front of her on the coffee table.

"Sign them," he ordered, handing her a pen. She picked up one of the sheets of paper, reading it over. He had quickly scribbled out in his almost unreadable handwriting four simple rules with two lines underneath the rules. Looking down at the other sheet of paper she saw that the top lines on both sheets of paper already had his signature on them.

1. No interference into each other's private life.

2. If Pan Son completes the contract, Trunks Briefs will free her of Capsule Corps' contract.

3. If Pan Son insists upon a divorce before the 6 months term is finished, she will continue her Capsule Corps' contract.

4. The public must be oblivious to the fact that the marriage is fake. If the public becomes aware that the marriage is fake then all appropriate actions will be given to Trunks Briefs to act upon.

She stared at the rules in shock. It made sense how even if they were married that they would have separate lives. But the fact that he would state it so bluntly hurt her again in a way she forget he could. The same way he had hurt her all those years ago. As the ache faded, his frankness confirmed one of her fears about this fake marriage. He truly didn't want to marry her. She felts like crying again. She seemed to always find herself in pain whenever Trunks was around her.

She placed the paper onto the table and stared at it for a moment, questions bubbling inside her. Should she ask or not. Would it make any difference if she did? She decided to be adventurous for once and take action then ask questions.

She slowly signed both sheets of paper on the line below Trunk's signature. He handed her one of the sheets of paper.

"A copy for each of us. Also, sign this one too," Trunks said taking a thin stack of stapled papers out of the folder on the corner of the coffee table. Pan looked through it and was shocked. Was Trunks serious?

"You're firing me?" Pan asked with disbelief.

"It'll be easier for us. The less we have to show ourselves in public, the less the risk of someone finding out that it's a fake marriage," Trunks said with a casual shrugged. He was doing this so it would be easier for the both of them. He planned that during their marriage she would stay at home and he would be at work most of the time. They would act the perfect couple when they were out in public but why exert themselves more by spending time together? The less time they spent together the less the chance of them divorcing because of too much stress on their relationship of always acting the happily married couple.

"That is a good reason, but I need this job Trunks. Well, it's more that I need the money," Pan said nervously looking up at him with guilty eyes. She didn't want to tell him of her financial situation at the moment.

"I'll pay you to act as my wife. The same salary as right now. Oh, but can you clean and cook?" Trunks asked, pleased that she was being so agreeable.

"Of course I can! I'm not a child," Pan stated, furious that he thought of her so useless.

"Okay, that'll be included in the job since I just fired my maid and cook yesterday," Trunks said grinning devilishly.

Pan's jaw dropped. Was she signing to be his temporary wife or his temporary servant?

"Also can you stay a little while longer? We do need to go over some minor details, " he said when she didn't reply.

"Fine, just make it quick I'm really sleepy," she said as a yawn crept up on her. Pan pulled her legs under her body as she got comfortable on the soft couch. Trunks walked over and sat beside her on the couch, leaning back looking completely relaxed.

They talked all night, or argued as Pan would put it, over small details and bits of information that would be needed to make their "marriage" believable. The media was no problem and it would be easy to fool them but their families were the new couple's main concern. They knew that if their story wasn't well planned and rehearsed, that they would be caught. Everyone knew that they had become enemies and that they would have killed each other if the law didn't forbid it. News that they were suddenly engaged would cause them to become suspicious and worried that the pair had gone insane. Trunks brought over to the coffee table two mugs of coffee. They both needed the caffeine to stay awake.

Their conversation continued late into the early hours of morning and they hadn't noticed when the sun slowly seeped into the office, it's golden rays sweeping the marble floors. Pan was first to doze off, her eyelids fluttering shut as she started to lean to her left side. Trunks' shoulder stopped her from falling onto the couch.

At first he was frozen with the shock of her trusting him enough to fall asleep by his side. He had never fallen asleep with someone else in the same room since he became the company president. He simply had too many competitors who wanted him wiped out of the business world. Some had tried and he made sure they never got the chance to try again. He had connections with people who wiped their companies out so thoroughly and put them so deep in debt that their great-grandchildren were the ones who paid the debts. His mother had taught him well enough to know that second chances and doubts could not survive in the business world.

Trunks pondered waking her up then decided against it. He was careful to not waken Pan by slowly holding her against him while leaning back onto the couch. At the slight movement Pan snuggled herself partially onto his chest, her head resting just below his chin. He smiled to himself at her actions as he wrapped his arms around her delicate frame.

They both needed the rest. Heaving a sigh he closed his eyes, listening to her even breathing as he fell asleep.

* * *

_He didn't fall asleep at the office again did he?_ complained a certain woman with short blue hair and a determined attitude. She stepped out of her car and walked over to the main doors of Capsule Corps. She punched in her password and waited for the machine to recognize her. As soon as she was in through the doors, she heard one of the security guards click his tongue while he read over the morning newspaper.

"This sure isn't good news for Capsule Corps," he mumbled out through a mouth full of jelly doughnut. She ran over as fast as her legs would take her and snatched the newspaper from his hands.

_Please let this not be another scandal about him or of a new engagement_ she said in her head before she looked at the front page. Her jaw dropped and her eyes bulged at the picture she saw. Her shock quickly gave away to anger then to worry then right back to anger. _The newspaper must have got their information wrong or misinterpreted the facts or something! Was it the wrong couple?_ She looked back again and studied the couple's facial structure with her eyes and there was no doubt about it. It was _him_ and _her_ in _that_ position.

"Ma'm? May I have my paper back?" asked the squat security guard. She glared at him and sped across the marble floors, her head confused beyond belief. _Was her son wishing for death?_ If he was, she was currently more than glad to fulfill his request. She was shaking from nervousness, her feet pounding on the smooth floor, she waited for the light to come on. The elevator was tearing through her nerves, her heart pumping more fiercely as the numbers went up, 1, 2 ,3... _Is he really that idiotic?_ Suddenly a thought popped into her already genius mind. She snapped out her cellphone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?... Yes, Videl, it's me... Has Gohan seen the newspaper yet?... Oh, he has... What was his reaction?... Oh, you didn't get to see, because he left right after... Did you see it yet?... No... Oh, that's good, uhm, I have to go, talk to you later... Bye," with a sigh she ended the conversation. _I just hope Trunks is prepared._ The palms of her hand were sweating, her forehead glistening, and her lips chapped from worrying so much. The elevator came to a stop and the doors slowly separated. With a deep breathe she strode into the office of Capsule Corps' president.

She turned her head slowly from side to side, making sure to grasp in every detail about the area in front of her. Everything seemed perfectly normal, nothing was changed, then her eyes came to see the two sleeping figures in front of her. There was nothing indecent about the scene, it actually looked romantic. Pan snuggled against Trunks and his arms wrapped around her. It was like a scene from a romance movie, even the weather agreed, the rays from the sun casting soft lighting into the room.

It was a beautiful morning, she didn't want to spoil it with shouting or threatening her son. A part of her was celebrating that they had become friends again but then another part of her was doubting what her eyes were seeing. Just yesterday they were fighting and now they were cuddling together. Something was not right.

Bulma slowly tip-toed toward the elevator, careful to not wake up the dozing couple. Trunks opened one eye toward her direction, she knew her son wasn't a heavy sleeper.

She whispered toward him, "Good Luck," giggled then shut the door, she hoped he had gotten her message.

Trunks knew what his mother had said, what she meant by that too. She told him not to mess up this chance with Pan. He slowly looked around the room searching for the clock. He found it to realize he had only been alseep for half an hour.

"Might as well wake up now," he said yawning, an obvious reaction to lack of rest. He gazed down at the sleeping beauty dozing on his chest. Pure. That would be the word to describe her. She was too innocent in everything, trusting someone like him. A deep chuckle passed his lips.

At the slight movement Pan felt herself slip from her dream back into reality. She snuggled herself deeper into her matress. _Wait, my matress is breathing!_ Pan pushed herself up with her hands onto a wall of firm muscle, rubbed her eyes with her hands, then came nose to nose with Trunks. He grinned that devilish grin of his and she felt her heart melt.

"Panny," he practically purred as she stared at him with a blank expression.

"Trunks... What... My room... Oh," she said breathlessly as reality hit her. She was going to marry Trunks and act his wife. She looked around to find herself in his office. She sat back and realized she was sitting on top of him! At that thought her mind went blank as a sheet of paper.

"Ah!" Pan yelped as she jumped off him. She fixed her outfit as much as she could and straightened out her hair before she sent an accusing glare toward him. In response to her obvious hostility he shrugged as he sat up.

"Morning to you too," he mumbled as he got up to go into his office. She watched him swagger away as graceful as a feline. It irritated her that he looked handsome even after sleeping on a couch. His clothes were a bit rumpled and his hair was oddly shaped but he still looked good. She probably looked worse than something the cat dragged in if her memory was correct in the way she had looked every morning of her life.

She searched for the time, glad that at least she had about an hour to get home and get ready for work. Why on earth did she fall asleep in front of him. Did she snore? Did she drool? Then she realized she shouldn't care what she looked like when she was asleep because he wouldn't get to see her asleep again. She was his employee, he was her boss, their relationship had nothing personal in it. Her heart refused to believe that though.

"Here," Trunks said shoving a cup of hot coffee into her hand making her jump. She stared wide-eyed at him, she hadn't even noticed he was back.

"You changed your clothes? How?" Pan asked as she sipped her coffee, it was a little bit of heaven in a cup.

"I have a set of extra clothes in my office in case I accidentally sleep here," he said sipping his own coffee. His outfit today was another expensive, personally tailored suit that made her want to gag. Trunks was not modest that he had money. No wonder women practically threw themselves at him. She should know, she had seen enough women to fill a country that had come into Capsule Corps to openly flirt with him. But mostly it disgusted her at how he responded to those women. He never denied them if they were pretty enough and had big enough melons. Shallow jerk.

"Go home and get some rest. I'll send a stylist later today to get you ready for the press conference," he casually said, sipping his coffee then turned to go back into his office.

"You already found a replacement?" she asked stunned that someone would take up this job. A part of her felt sad that she would be leaving this more or less good job but the other part wanted to celebrate that she wouldn't have to see Trunks for the rest of the day. Then the contract hit like a bolt of lightening into her thoughts and ruined her mood.

"I called a job agency and they gave me someone," he shouted out of his office.

"Oh," she whispered, a little sad that she could be replaced so quickly as if all her hard work these past few months had been nothing. But then again this was the Trunks Briefs that made presidents of numerous companies bawl like a baby in meetings with his subtle yet ruthless verbal attacks. She didn't expect any sympathy from him, he was the last person in the world who would give it. But a dull pain wrapped itself around her heart. She really didn't mean anything to him. She was just another employee.

Snapping out of her thoughts she walked over to her desk and smiled sadly. She had spent so many hours working here yet unlike the rest of the employees her desk was bare of personal momentos. No pictures, cute pens, or a secret stash of sweets for extra energy. It was because she felt that if she didn't accept the permanence of the job for five years and continued to believe that it was only temporary, it would be. Now it was.

"Bye," she said quietly grabbing her purse as she left.

Trunks listened to the soft click of the elevator doors closing.

* * *

Pan did not feel like being on the receiving end of a lecture from her father. Her father was bound to have read the newspaper already. She thought about the marriage as she walked out of the elevator. As she walked past the front desk she saw the group of women huddled together, whispering behind their hands. Thanks to her saiyan hearing she heard everything.

"That's the girl in today's newspaper. Wow, I'm guessing she had another night with Mr. Briefs," snickered one of them.

"Mr. Briefs' sure has lowered his standards. I thought he was picky but looks like anyone will do in an emergency," giggled another.

"I cannot believe she has the guts to show her face in public, the slut," another said haughtily.

Blinded by tears she straightened her spine, lifted her chin, then briskly walked out of the building. She reached her car, leaned her head against the top, and broke down. The stress of everything couldn't be contained in her heart anymore. Big, fat tears slid down her cheeks, soaking her shirt. She wept and wept.

Was that the opinion of everyone? She knew that she wasn't a beauty half stuffed with silicone like the rest of the women Trunks had dated in the past, but was she really that hated because others thought that she wasn't good enough for him? It hurt so much, her heart felt like it was about to break in half. Did her friends think like that? Did her parents? Was she going to lose her friendship with Bra for being caught doing something like that with Trunks?

Pan didn't want any of this. She wanted a simple life. But here she was, the cause of a great scandal between her and Trunks. She didn't want him to do anything, she tried to fight him off but she was a few minutes too late at that. Why? That was what she wanted to know. Why did this happen to her? She sobbed until she felt that she would cry blood if she cried anymore.

She slowly stood back, wiped her tears with the back of her hand and got her keys out. She couldn't go home. In her sorry state Gohan would think Trunks had caused her to cry. Wouldn't that be lovely, a bloody fight between her father and her fiance the same week as her miserable wedding.

What Pan didn't notice was that two piercing eyes were watching her. A lavendar-haired man saw her crying and felt compelled to go down there and comfort her. But what comfort could he give when he was the cause of her misery. He continued to watch her from his office windows until she stood up, got in her car, and left. With a scowl he returned to his work.

* * *

Pan drove around aimlessly for a while, waiting for her nose and eyes to return to their normal skintone. She stopped by a cafe and ordered a cappuccino with her personal preferences, slowly sipping the morning away when she got an unexpected phone call from a long time friend.

In the middle of her daydreaming, her purse on the tabletop started shaking, she had it on vibrate. Her hand blindly digged into her work purse, searching through all the clutter inside until her hand found her cellphone. She snapped it open.

"Hello?" she answered taking another sip from her cappuccino and flipping through a magazine.

"Guess who?" said a masculine voice in reply with a slight accent.

"Why are you calling?" said Pan with a huge smile. She felt like squealing with happiness but then remembered where she was. Instead she let out a little giggle.

"You haven't called me in months! What am I to you? I thought you loved me!" he shrieked back with his usual dramatic flair.

"I've been really busy since I've been back," Pan said laughing. It felt so wonderful to hear a friendly voice after everything that had suddenly happened to her in the last few days. This was the best medicine to her wounds that had been re-opened in the last months since working with Trunks.

"Okay, fine. I'll let you off this once with that lame excuse. So just a quick update, I quit my old job because my boss kept trying to get me into her bed and I moved to another country. Not that you would care since you've been too busy to care about your dear, old, single, yet beyond words handsomely, sexy friend. Now I want you to guess where I am right now?"

Pan laughed at how arrogant he still was about his looks. He wasn't wrong, he had the chiseled facial features of a model and the lean muscled body of a dancer. Yet she wasn't attracted to him because she thought of him more as a close friend than a potential boyfriend.

The background noise was loud and murky at first. Every sound blurred into each other to create nothing but a mess of noises. But then after a few moments she was able to separate all the different noises from each other. She heard a woman complaining to another about problems with her boyfriend, a group of boys arguing energetically about sports, and a couple murmuring words of love to each other. And it was all in Japanese.

"You're in Japan right now?" Pan exclaimed, almost knocking her cappuccino over.

"Took you long enough to realize it. I'm standing in front of the building of my new job right now. Can you believe my luck? I've been here for two days, I joined a job agency yesterday then I got a call this morning saying I got a job. I would have called you sooner but I wanted to surprise you by visiting in person. But the thing is I somehow lost your address. Luckily your number was still on my cellphone. So can you tell me your address? Pretty please," he asked.

Pan felt almost giddy with joy and she was the type that rarely got giddy over anything. Sure he sometimes acts childish but his heart is always in the right place. Unlike a certain someone who just proposed to her. He's always the mature one and his heart is the same as a pig. Better yet, he has no heart.

She told him her address and asked if he had time later to meet up with her to catch up. He replied that he would be busy all day settling into his new job, so he asked her if later tonight would work. She replied that it was fine and they said their goodbyes.

Pan sighed. Her life in the states seemed so far away. Such as a distant memory or a dream. She had the time of her life during those few years when she could forget about Trunks. It was usually for only a few moments at a time but she did forget about him enough to be happy. She desperately wanted to be happy again, even if it was for only a few moments.

* * *

Pan collapsed onto her bed from lack of sleep. All she wanted was some rest before having to face anymore of her life. She slowly slipped into a deep sleep. She was exhausted.

Pan awoke to the head-splitting sound of someone ringing the doorbell. She burrowed herself deeper into the covers, her body absolutely refusing to do anything but sleep. The doorbell assault continued for another five minutes before Pan rolled off her bed with a hollow "thump". She quickly slipped into an old sweatshirt then plodded down toward the cause of her misery this afternoon.

She was surprised when she opened her front door. Standing in front of her was a flamboyant, young, woman wearing torn jeans and a torn pink top. The woman's outfit looked as if she came back from a fight with a lawnmower.

The woman introduced herself as Candie her stylist and quickly went to work. She was cheerful and easy to get along with. Of course the assortment of outfits Candie brought along with her including shoes and accesories was no fun for Pan to continually try on and take off.

Candie suddenly whipped out a silk lavendar dress. The top was a halter top with intricate stitching to be tight and accentuate the right areas while loose and flowing down the rest of her body. Simple jewelry and strappy black heels were added to the ensemble. Makeup was kept to a minimum.

An hour later after Candie had left, Pan was interrupted from her TV show by the doorbell screaming for attention again. Pan hurried over, flung the door open, and there stood Trunks. He looked troubled for some reason.

Trunks was standing outside her door looking burdened by something. He looked into her eyes and tried to give her a grin. One corner of his mouth tugged up in an endearing half grin. He blew out a long sigh before placing his hands on her shoulders. It was either to comfort her or prevent her from running away. Pan couldn't tell which one it was.

His gentle touch was warm and comforting for some reason. His whole body was stiff and tense. He looked into her eyes for something and obviously found it when some of the tension in his body loosened.

"Pan I need to tell you something that can't be avoided before we get married," he spoke with an edge in his voice. He told it to her in such a grave tone she started to worry.

"Stop it Trunks. You're starting to scare-," Pan said before she was cut off with his index finger over her lips.

"Pan, I need you to not interrupt me and just hear me out. Okay?" he asked with a serious expression.

She nodded she could.

He slowly pulled her into a fierce hug.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Author's Notes: I know that ver. 2 is _very_ different from ver. 1 with all the changes. Honestly, I hated ver. 1 of this chapter and I still don't like this version that much. This version is tolerable though. XD

I hope that even with all these changes I am making that people will still support Pan and Trunks in this story. As they grow, change, and eventually fall in love. Thank you to everyone who has read so far. I will continue to try my best. And to all those who don't want to continue to read the story anymore because of the changes, thank you for reading up until now.

Also chapter 1 has been slightly changed to match chapter 2. So if something comes up in this chapter that doesn't make sense, I recommend to go re-read chapter 1. Now off to write more. :D


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